1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a defect inspection method for inspecting the presence or absence of a defect of an object to be inspected (inspection object) such as a semiconductor wafer having a chip pattern, as well as a defect inspection apparatus based on that method.
2. Related Art
For inspecting the presence or absence of a defect etc. on a semiconductor wafer surface where a chip pattern is formed, a method is known in which the presence or absence of a defect is inspected by making a comparison between a captured image of a wafer as the inspection object and a master image of a wafer having no defect.
However, in an apparatus for inspecting a defect through the comparison with the master image, it is necessary to register master images individually for every apparatus, so that the amount of operation for that purpose increases. In addition, in a case where an optical system for capturing the image of the wafer is adjusted, it is necessary to re-register the master image as well, which takes a lot of trouble in the practical operation.